The present invention deals with a method of verifying vehicle emissions and especially to a method which tests refined fuel before and after treatment and which monitors the vehicles use of the fuel.
Internal combustion engines are a major source of pollutant gases in the atmosphere. Combustion exhaust includes NO.sub.2, nitrogen oxide, called NOX, which enters the atmosphere in varying amounts according to the engine operating conditions. In addition, internal combustion engines can produce varying degrees of carbon monoxide and carbon particles.
In recent years, reduction of emissions has received an increasing amount of attention and there have been a number of relatively low emission alternatives to the internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine utilizes petroleum based diesel fuel or gasoline which has survived due in part to the ability of engineers to constantly improve emission controls and maintain the internal combustion engine at governmental specified standards. However, to maintain proper emission controls requires maintaining the controls in a state of good repair. As such, an automobile, when it leaves a factory, may meet emission standards but can then change over time such that the bulk of vehicles on the road no longer meet those emission standards. One method employed by municipalities to reduce emissions has been to require periodic inspections that utilize computerized systems to measure the emissions with the result that a validation sticker is provided only to owners of vehicles who pass the tests. If not passed, the owner of a vehicle is given a predetermined amount of time to repair the vehicle and bring it within the standards. This has resulted in improvements in the level of emissions entering the environment from any particular vehicle. Emission systems are, however, relatively easy to tamper with.
Another alternative is the use of an alterative fuel system, such as natural gas and propane which burn cleaner as fuels. Typically, the average consumer does not purchase this type of fuel, and the vehicles that can burn them have difficulty to access the fuels. Also, both the state and federal government have introduced certain incentive plans that provide tax breaks for any organization that can reduce overall emissions with vehicles including tax breaks for reducing the emissions. One plan previously considered for enhancing the fuel for an internal combustion engine has been to pass the fuel through a predetermined magnetic field.
The following U.S. patents all treated fuel with a magnetic field and all place permanent or electromagnets around an existing non-magnetic fuel line to apply the magnetic field to the fuel passing through a fuel line.
The Hudz U.S. Pat. No. RE 35,181, applies a magnetic field to the vaporizer portion of a carburetor for improving the dispersion of the fuel/air mixture entering the internal combustion engine. The Saito et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,915, applies an electromagnetic field with a fluctuating magnetic flux density to a fuel injector. The Wakuta U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,582; Jeong U.S. Pat. No. 5,329,911; Wood et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,779; Anfinson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,979; and Petrovic U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,615 each attach an apparatus to the fuel line that allows the fuel to pass therethrough while applying a magnetic field to the fuel passing through the fuel line. Magnets are placed for the fuel to pass therearound which also swirl the fuel.
The Sakuma U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,743, is a process for the treatment of hydrocarbon fuel which includes treating the fuel with a very weak magnetic flux density with a larger magnetic density in the south pole than in the north pole. The Shroyer U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,954, is a fuel treating apparatus which treats the fuel including fuels with an electromagnetic field for later use in an engine. The Sanderson U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,426; Sanderson U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,237; Dalupan U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,385; and the Miyazaki U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,370; along with the Pascall U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,490 and Wolff U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,076 each treat fuel by passing the fuel through a magnetic field. The fuel appears to pass through an area of reduced cross-sectional area in the fuel line.
The Takabayashi U.S. Pat. No, 4,334,889, teaches a method of improving the combustibility of gasoline by injecting oxygen gas into gasoline in the stationary or flowing state under a magnetic field to prolong the running time of an internal combustion engine under the same conditions as untreated gasoline. The U.S. Patent to Kita et al., No. 5,829,420, is an electromagnetic device for the magnetic treatment of fuel which senses the emission and uses a microprocessor and electromagnet electrically interconnected in a feedback loop so as to minimize the emission of carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons while maximizing the output of carbon dioxide on an engine.
The Tibbals, III U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,906, is an emission validation system which has a plurality of sensors for monitoring various emissions and diagnostic aspects of a vehicle. An emissions validation system is operable upon refueling through a refueling line to interface to a CPU. The CPU retrieves the stored information and transfers it through the interface through an electrical line to a main CPU in the emission validation system. The main CPU then validates the information in addition to monitoring the amount of fuel that is placed back into the vehicle's tank which allows a complete record of the vehicle history to be maintained.
The present invention deals with a method of verifying vehicle emissions particularly on fleet trucks and the like using a diesel fuel which tests a refined petroleum fuel for emissions before treating the fuel and again, after treating the fuel, and then comparing the before and after measurements to determine reduction in the emissions by the treated fuel. This data is transmitted to a computer and the fuel is dispensed at fuel dispensing stations where a truck being refueled has the data transmitted to the computer along with the identification of the truck. The computer can then match the identification of the truck with the fuel data. The invention also calls for an on-board exhaust emissions measuring device for continuously measuring the exhaust and storing the data for transmission to the computer during refueling.